I know... I never thought I would think like this but, living in the area that experts predict will be hit the hardest by government cuts, I feel like I'd be an idiot voting based on my political principles over the reality of what's on my doorstep. The Tories know they can hurt this part of the country as much as they like and they won't lose a single meaningful vote. I thought they'd be different but it looks like I was wrong.

And that's the problem with our electoral system (though it still probably has less problems than any other electoral system). It actually doesn't matter whether you vote or not, because where you live Labour will win.

It could get worse, Balls may retrieve his Whelan from the sewage works.Politics has attracted some appalling people into it's ranks but Balls must rank equal first with Archer and Blair in the total tosser stakes, with Brown and Aitken running a close second.